Creative Writing Pedagogy: The Autobiographical Narrative in Hybrid Projects as a Means to Explore Intersectionality

My thesis addresses the role of creative writing methods in fostering close observation, attention to detail, critical thinking and a keener awareness of intersectionalities in writing classrooms across disciplines, but most especially the humanities and social sciences. I contend that the real work of the academy is critical thinking. Further, using creative writing, specifically autobiographical narrative in FYC, anticipates multimodal projects and digital storytelling, all of which fosters creative and critical thinking

Creative Writing Pedagogy: The Autobiographical Narrative in Hybrid Projects as a Means to Explore Intersectionality

My thesis addresses the role of creative writing methods in fostering close observation, attention to detail, critical thinking and a keener awareness of intersectionalities in writing classrooms across disciplines, but most especially the humanities and social sciences. I contend that the real work of the academy is critical thinking. Further, using creative writing, specifically autobiographical narrative in FYC, anticipates multimodal projects and digital storytelling, all of which fosters creative and critical thinking

Stationary two-atom entanglement induced by nonclassical two-photon correlations

A system of two two-level atoms interacting with a squeezed vacuum field can exhibit stationary entanglement associated with nonclassical two-photon correlations characteristic of the squeezed vacuum field. The amount of entanglement present in the system is quantified by the well known measure of entanglement called concurrence. We find analytical formulas describing the concurrence for two identical and nonidentical atoms and show that it is possible to obtain a large degree of steady-state entanglement in the system. Necessary conditions for the entanglement are nonclassical two-photon correlations and nonzero collective decay. It is shown that nonidentical atoms are a better source of stationary entanglement than identical atoms. We discuss the optimal physical conditions for creating entanglement in the system, in particular, it is shown that there is an optimal and rather small value of the mean photon number required for creating entanglement.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Evaluation de la virulence d'une souche néo-calédonienne de Beauveria bassiana vis à vis du Scolyte de la graine du caféier Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari, Coleoptera Scolytidae

Des lots de 50 à 100 drupes de caféier ont été plongés, avec autant de femelles infestantes du Scolyte de la graine du caféier (#Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari), dans des solutions aqueuses de concentrations croissantes de conidiospores d'une souche néo-calédonienne de #Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. récoltée dans la nature (souche "Sarraméa"). La baisse de fécondité, la mortalité et le comportement du scolyte atteint par le champignon ont été observés. (Résumé d'auteur

Effects of nitrogen, phosphorus and vermicompost fertilizers on productivity of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Babile, Eastern Ethiopia

ArticleThough groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a main cash crop for smallholder farmers in several districts of eastern Ethiopia, its yield is very low. Farmers apply little or no fertilizers to grow the crop possibly because no generic or recommended fertilizers rates available for farmers. Therefore field experiments were conducted for two consecutive cropping seasons in Babile district, to prove the hypothesis that one of the major factors that severely reduce the yield of the crop was lack of nutrients in the soil with the objective of investigating the effects of applying mineral NP fertilizers and vermicompost on the productivity of improved groundnut variety ‘BaHa-Gudo’. The experiment was 3 × 3 × 3 factorial with three replications laid down in a randomized complete block design comprising nitrogen (0, 23 and 46 kg N ha-1 ), phosphorus (0, 46 and 92 kg P2O5 ha-1 ) and vermicompost (0, 2.5 and 5 t vermicompost ha-1 ). The data on crop growth, nodulation and yield were collected and subjected to analysis of SAS 9.2 software. Means separation were made using Duncans Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% level of significance. The results revealed that growth, yield attributes, and yields were significantly (P < 0.01) affected by the main and interactions effect of the treatments. The pod yield obtained from combined application of 46: 46 kg N: P2O5 ha-1 and 2.5 t vermicompost ha-1 exceeded the pod yield produced from nil application of fertilizers by about 100%. The economic analysis also indicated that the highest marginal rate of return (671%) and net benefit ($ 1,830) ha-1 were obtained from combined application of 46: 46 kg N: P2O5 ha-1 and 2.5 t vermicompost ha-1 . From the results it could be concluded that applying the aforementioned doses of fertilizers combination would enable farmers increase productivity of groundnut so as to enhance farmers’ income and livelihoods

Exploring Cortical Attentional System by Using fMRI during a Continuous Perfomance Test

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in eight healthy subjects to identify the localization, magnitude, and volume extent of activation in brain regions that are involved in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during the performance of Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT). An extensive brain network was activated during the task including frontal, temporal, and occipital cortical areas and left cerebellum. The more activated cluster in terms of volume extent and magnitude was located in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Analyzing the dynamic trend of the activation in the identified areas during the entire duration of the sustained attention test, we found a progressive decreasing of BOLD response probably due to a habituation effect without any deterioration of the performances. The observed brain network is consistent with existing models of visual object processing and attentional control and may serve as a basis for fMRI studies in clinical populations with neuropsychological deficits in Conners' CPT performance

Correlation between Migraine Severity and Cholesterol Levels.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have documented increased cardiovascular risk factors, particularly hypercholesterolemia, in the migraine population with respect to controls. However, no studies have investigated the possible relationship between headache severity parameters and lipid serum levels. METHODS: This study evaluated the lipid asset in 52 migraine patients (17 with and 36 without aura) before and after treatment with drugs for migraine prophylaxis for 3 months. RESULTS: High frequency (HF, ≥ 8/month) and intensity (HI, ≥ 5 Numeric Rating Score) vs. low frequency (LF, < 8/month) and intensity (LI, < 5) of crises were associated with significantly higher cholesterol levels, both total (TC, HF vs. LF, P < 0.0001; HI vs. LI, P < 0.0001) and LDL (LDL-c, HF vs. LF, P < 0.0001, and HI vs. LI, P < 0.0001). In treated patients, a significant decrease in number and intensity of crises was associated with a significant reduction of TC and LDL-c (P < 0.001). A direct linear correlation was also found between frequency and intensity of crises and lipid levels (TC/frequency, P < 0.0001; TC/intensity, P < 0.0001; LDL-c/frequency, P < 0.0001; LDL-c/intensity, P < 0.0001). No significant difference was found in the evaluated parameters for the subgroups of patients with and without aura. DISCUSSION: This study shows a significant positive association between migraine frequency and intensity with total and LDL cholesterol, demonstrating for the first time a significant reduction of these lipid parameters after migraine prophylaxis. However, in view of the retrospective design of the study and the small population size, these results should be considered as preliminary, to be confirmed by future prospective controlled trials

Inter- and Intraspecific Diversity of Food Legumes Among Households and Communities in Ethiopia

Smallholders throughout sub-Saharan Africa produce legume crops as sources of food, fodder, and cash income, as well as to improve soil fertility. Ethiopian farmers have developed diverse legume varieties that enable adaptation to changing agroecological and sociocultural conditions. However, over the past several decades, as farm sizes declined and extension services promoted new varieties developed by plant breeders, changes in legume diversity have not been monitored. Based on interviews with smallholder farmers (n = 1296), we investigated the status of inter- and intraspecific legume diversity in major production areas of Ethiopia for five food legumes: common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Legume species richness increased with altitude, relative household wealth, and land area planted to legumes. The highest numbers of varieties were found for common bean, followed by field pea, faba bean, groundnut and fenugreek. The average number of varieties planted per household was low (ranging from 1 to 2) and often much lower than the number reported in the same community or zone, which ranged from 2 to 18. For three out of the five species, the number of varieties significantly increased with total land area planted to legumes. Most varieties were rare, planted by less than 1/3 of farmers; however, informants accurately named varieties planted by others in the same community, demonstrating awareness of legume diversity at the community level. Given that the ability to plant multiple legume varieties is limited by land size, policies need to strengthen community-level conservation based on the diverse interests and needs of individual households. There are five additional files which give supporting data for this article